A police worker received £8,000 in compensation after tripping over a stack of paper (Picture: PA)

Handcuffing violent drunks, confronting armed robbers and chasing getaway cars at high-speed can be all in a day’s work on the force. But for one police worker the biggest danger encountered was a pile of paperwork.

Bosses paid out £8,000 in compensation to the employee after he tripped over the stack in a corridor, it has been revealed.

A police worker who slipped on an empty bottle in a car park was awarded £4,450 – and a colleague who fell off a chair and injured their back was paid £18,400.

Other payouts included £16,610 to an officer who tripped over a blanket – and £50 to a worker who fell over debris and ruined their shoes.

In total, £446,999 was paid to settle 43 successful claims between 2007 and 2012 by Nottinghamshire police.

Tory MP for Sherwood Mark Spencer said staff had ‘lost the plot’ with trivial claims.

But Phil Matthews of the Police Federation said officers who had been badly injured deserved payouts.